Maggz Releases New Album After 8-Year Hiatus

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After eight years, Maggz has finally released a follow-up to his 2009 debut album The Breakout. It’s titled For Love and Glory, and features appearances from the likes of Reason, PH, KLY, Da L.E.S and L-Tido, among others rappers.

Since his emergence in the mid-2000s, the smooth rhyme-slayer from Soweto has been hopping between cliques and labels, without releasing an album. It came to a point where he was becoming the South African version of Jay Electronica.

The new offering proves that Maggz’s style has undergone significant changes. On his 2006 mixtape Sorry For The Long Wait, his style was a cross between kasi-rap and conventional backpack rap – M.A Double is one of the best when it comes to mixing vernacular and English in his raps, just like Pro, for whom he used to be an ally and hypeman.

Maggz was initially part of Saudi Western (alongside Pro and rapper Sgebi), and then made the move to join Glitz Gang (alongside L-Tido, Morale and Sean Pages). He then released his debut album The Breakout under Fassie Records, with producer Bongani Fassie.

After his career stagnated, he signed to K.O’s Cashtime Life. Within a year, he’d already left the label before he could release his album.

On the intro of For Love and Glory, we hear his ex-boss K.O talking about Maggz’s album and eventually giving his view on the rapper leaving the label.

Outside of the label-hopping drama, For Love and Glory is a cocktail of different production styles, ranging from regular trap to boom bap and everything in between. Maggz has one of the best deliveries in the game, and his pen game is mean. He lets off a barrel of heartfelt rhymes, punchlines and metaphors from the intro right through to the outro, taking breaks on light-hearted songs – like ‘Vaye’, which has a kwaito feel. With the right push, tracks from the album could pack dance floors in shebeens and clubs all over South Africa.

It’s too early to give a verdict on Maggz’ latest offering, but from the little we’ve heard, it’s a decent effort worth giving a try.